Madras High Court
1365 cases · page 18 of 46
Showing 511–539Legrand France and Novateur Electrical and Digital Systems Pvt Ltd v.Praveen Kumar Jain (Trading as Biocon Tapes India) and The Registrar of Trademarks
The Madras High Court allowed a petition seeking rectification of the trade mark register, successfully canceling an identical registration of 'LEGRAND' held by Praveen Kumar Jain. The court found that the petitioner, Legrand France, had prior and extensive use of the arbitrary mark since 1970 in India, while the respondent's goods (adhesive tapes) were complementary to the petitioner's electrical products (switches). Given the identical nature of the marks and the likelihood of public confusion due to overlapping distribution channels, the court ruled that the later registration was made without sufficient cause.
M/S.Silver Oak (India) Limited v.Rhizome Distilleries Pvt. Ltd.
The Madras High Court dismissed the appeal filed by M/S. Silver Oak (India) Limited against Rhizome Distilleries Pvt. Ltd. The core issue involved an opposition concerning Trade Mark No. 1116900 in Class 33. However, upon inquiry, the court found that the relevant trade mark had already been removed from the Register of Trade Marks. Consequently, the appeal was deemed infructuous and dismissed without further order.
Eupharma Laboratories Ltd. v.Brawn and Burk Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.
Eupharma Laboratories Ltd. filed a civil suit against Brawn and Burk Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., seeking permanent injunctions for infringing the 'MALOXINE' trademark and copyrighted carton design, as well as damages for passing off. The original prayer sought to restrain the defendant from using similar marks or designs on pharmaceutical products. However, given that the plaintiff company had been wound up and remained inactive in prosecuting this very old suit since 1998, the Madras High Court dismissed the case for non-prosecution.
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha v.Sharp Industries & The Deputy Registrar of Trade Marks
The Madras High Court dismissed the appeal filed by Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha challenging an earlier order that allowed a competitor, Sharp Industries, to register the mark 'SHARP' for pumps. Despite presenting extensive evidence regarding its global reputation and prior use of the trademark, the court upheld the original decision. The core reasons for upholding the registration were that the goods in question (pumps) were deemed dissimilar from the appellant's primary products, and crucially, the appellant failed to definitively establish that 'SHARP' was a well-known mark within India as required by the Trade Marks Act.
M/s.K.P. Namboodiri'S Ayurvedics v.Dr. S. Sajikumar
The Madras High Court disposed of the petition filed by M/s.K.P. Namboodiri'S Ayurvedics against Dr. S. Sajikumar regarding the cancellation of a registered trademark (No. 1914715). The court noted that the contesting parties had entered into a Memorandum of Compromise dated October 31, 2023. Under this settlement, both parties agreed to permit each other's trademarks to coexist in the market and subsequently withdrew all related proceedings.
M/s.Blue Heaven Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd v.BHCosmetics LLC
The Madras High Court ruled in favor of M/s. Blue Heaven Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd, granting a petition for rectification of the Trade Marks Register. The court found that the first respondent's subsequent trade mark registration was deceptively similar to the petitioner's prior and established use of 'Blue Heaven.' Given that both marks are used in relation to cosmetics and related products, the court directed the Registrar of Trade Marks to cancel and remove the impugned registration (No. 4200085) from the register.
Nripendra Kashyap, Constituted Attorney Of Blackberry Limited v.The Assistant Controller of Patents
The appellant, Blackberry Limited, challenged the refusal of its Indian Patent Application No. 8984/CHENP/2012 by the Assistant Controller. The rejection was based on lack of inventive step and anticipation by prior art documents D1-D4. The High Court set aside the impugned order, finding that the Assistant Controller failed to address key submissions made by the appellant regarding the technical differences between the invention and the cited prior art.
F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ag v.The Controller of Patents and Designs, Government of India
F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ag filed a Transfer Civil Miscellaneous Appeal (Patents) challenging an earlier decision by the Controller of Patents and Designs concerning Patent No. 207232. The appellant subsequently instructed counsel to withdraw the appeal due to the expiry of the patent term.
Lupin Limited v.Tablets (India) Limited
The Madras High Court set aside an earlier rejection order in favor of Lupin Limited, allowing its appeal against the registration of the mark 'CEFTRIL'. The court found that the Registrar's conclusion—that Lupin did not use its prior mark 'CEFF'—was erroneous and contradicted the evidence presented. Furthermore, given the 1st respondent's willingness to seek cancellation, the High Court directed the removal of the disputed trade mark from the register.
F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ag v.The Controller of Patents and Designs, Government of India
F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ag filed an appeal challenging an order passed by The Controller of Patents and Designs regarding Patent No. 208718. However, the petitioner subsequently informed the court that the patent had expired on October 1, 2019.
Laurus Labs Pvt Ltd v.H.Lundbeck A/S
Laurus Labs Pvt Ltd filed a Transfer Original Petition seeking the revocation of Indian patent No. 229919 held by H. Lundbeck A/S under Section 64 of the Patents Act, 1970. The court observed that the term of the said patent had already expired on July 12, 2021.
Sucampo Pharma Llc v.M/s.Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs, Government of India
Sucampo Pharma LLC filed a Transfer Civil Miscellaneous Appeal (Patents) challenging an earlier order issued by the Assistant Controller of Patents. The appeal sought to set aside the 2016 order and allow the patent application to proceed for grant.
M/s.Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. v.M/s.Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs, Government of India, Patent Office
M/s.Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. filed a Transfer Civil Miscellaneous Appeal (Patents) challenging an earlier order from the Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs. The appellant subsequently instructed their counsel to withdraw the appeal.
Compagnie De Saint-Gobain v.Sakthi Sai Safety Glass India
Compagnie De Saint-Gobain filed applications alleging that Sakthi Sai Safety Glass India was continuing to use the protected Trade Mark 'SAINT-GOBAIN' for selling toughened glasses after their contract had been terminated. The respondents raised defenses regarding lack of compliance with mediation, contractual relationship, and arbitration clauses.
Cabot Corporation v.The Registrar of Trade Marks
Cabot Corporation successfully challenged the refusal of its word mark 'PROPEL' by The Registrar of Trade Marks. The High Court overturned the rejection based on two cited marks. For the first mark, the court noted that the proprietor had subsequently consented to registration despite differences in goods. For the second composite mark, the court clarified that protection only extends to the entire composite device and not its individual elements unless separately registered. This ruling paves the way for 'PROPEL' to proceed toward trademark registration.
Centaur Pharmaceuticals Private Limited v.Sai Mirra Innopharm Private Limited; The Registrar of Trade Marks
The Madras High Court dismissed a petition filed by Centaur Pharmaceuticals seeking the rectification or removal of Trade Mark No. 1409666 from the register. The court found that the trade mark's last valid registration expired long ago, specifically on December 28, 2015. Since the renewal period had lapsed and the petition was based on rectifying an active registration, the court held the case to be infructuous.
M/s. Godfrey Phillips India Limited v.Khoday India Limited
The Madras High Court set aside a previous rejection order, allowing M/s. Godfrey Phillips India Limited to successfully challenge the registration of 'Khoday's Red & White'. The court found that the appellant possessed a well-known trademark used since 1940 for cigarettes, and crucially noted the prolonged non-use of the mark by Khoday India Limited from its application date in 1995. This decision reinforces the importance of continuous use and reputation when challenging subsequent registrations.
Almac Discovery Limited v.The Assistant Controller of Patents & Designs
Almac Discovery Limited filed an appeal challenging the Impugned Order dated July 19, 2017, passed by The Assistant Controller of Patents & Designs regarding Indian Patent Application No.82/CHENP/2009. However, the petitioner subsequently instructed counsel to withdraw the appeal.
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University v.Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs
The appellants challenged the rejection of their patent application (No. 9445/CHENP/2013) by the Controller, which cited objections regarding insufficient disclosure and lack of clarity in the claims. The High Court held that the impugned order lacked the necessary specificity to enable the applicant to address the objections effectively.
ITC Limited v.Britannia Industries Ltd.
The Madras High Court upheld the interim injunction granted against the defendant for infringing on the plaintiff's trademarks and trade dress related to 'Good Day' biscuits. The court found that the adoption of an identical blue color scheme by the competitor, Sunfeast, amounted to passing off and confusing the public. However, in a concession to the defense, the court permitted the existing stock of the offending product (23.7 tonnes) to be sold.
Financiere Batteur Sas v.Kalai Arasu Trading As : Spot Light; Registrar of Trade Marks
The Madras High Court dismissed the petition filed by Financiere Batteur Sas seeking the cancellation and removal of Trade Mark No. 2897583, which was registered in Class 5 for the mark 'physiolac' under Kalai Arasu Trading As : Spot Light. The court noted that the subject matter of this petition was identical to another pending case, (T)OP(TM)/481/2023, and consequently closed the current petition without passing any order on costs.
M/s. Honda Motor Co., Ltd v.M/s. Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs, Government of India
M/s. Honda Motor Co., Ltd filed a Transfer Civil Miscellaneous Appeal (Patents) challenging the refusal order issued by the Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs on March 27, 2019. However, the appellant subsequently instructed its counsel to withdraw the appeal.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation v.Controller of Patents and Designs, Government of India
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation filed a Transfer Civil Miscellaneous Appeal (Patents) challenging the rejection of its patent application (No. 6745/CHENP/2015) by the Controller of Patents and Designs. The Madras High Court noted that this appeal was a duplication of another pending appeal, leading to its closure.
Sheeja Menon trading as M's Shwethas Hygeine Products v.M/s. Novel Tissues Pvt Ltd
The Madras High Court allowed the petition seeking rectification of a trademark registration, finding that the first respondent fraudulently registered an identical device mark (No. 2298691) in Class 16. The petitioner successfully demonstrated prior use and ownership rights over the mark for cosmetic wet wipes since 2011. Consequently, the Court directed the Registrar of Trade Marks to cancel the impugned registration, preventing confusion in the market.
E.Kiruthika v.(1)K.S.Moorthi Ram, (2)M.Maheshwari Partnership Firm M/S.Vishwak Garments, The Registrar of Trade Marks
The Madras High Court dismissed the petition filed by E.Kiruthika seeking to cancel the trademark registration 'VISHWAK' (No.2406200). The court noted that the trademark registration had expired on October 4, 2023, and since the long stop date for renewal had passed, the petition was deemed infructuous. This highlights the critical importance of timely action regarding trademark renewals to maintain legal rights.
Ttk Prestige Ltd. v.Nirlon Kitchenware Private Ltd.
Ttk Prestige Ltd. filed a suit against Nirlon Kitchenware Private Ltd. alleging infringement of its registered designs for pressure cookers and passing off due to the defendant's use of identical shapes, configurations, and phonetically similar marks like 'Svachh'. The court found in favor of the plaintiff.
V.C.Dinesh v.Aby K.George; The Trademark Registry
The Madras High Court dismissed the Original Petition (Trade Marks) filed by V.C.Dinesh against Aby K.George and The Trademark Registry. The petition sought to remove an entry from the Register relating to registration No. 1507478, arguing it was wrongly made under Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. However, the court noted a memo of withdrawal filed by the petitioner, confirming that the parties had reached a settlement in a prior case and agreed to withdraw this petition.
M/s. Mex Switchgears Pvt. Limited v.M/s. Seasco Dae Jong Bldg & The Registrar of Trade Marks
M/s. Mex Switchgears Pvt. Limited filed a Civil Miscellaneous Appeal challenging an earlier opposition order related to a trademark application in Class 9. However, the appellant subsequently instructed their counsel to withdraw the appeal. The Madras High Court accepted the memo of withdrawal and consequently dismissed the appeal without passing any orders regarding costs.
CRYTEK GmbH v.Hameed Firnas
The Madras High Court allowed a petition filed by CRYTEK GmbH, a German company specializing in computer games, seeking rectification of the Trade Marks Register. The court found that the impugned mark registered to Hameed Firnas was deceptively similar to CRYTEK's earlier trademark and was likely to cause public confusion. Crucially, the respondent failed to provide any evidence of use for their mark despite being given an opportunity, leading the court to direct its cancellation.
M/s.Snapbizz Cloudtech Pte Ltd. v.The Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks
M/s.Snapbizz Cloudtech Pte Ltd. filed an appeal challenging the Controller General of Patents' refusal to grant a patent. The appellant subsequently instructed her counsel to withdraw the appeal, leading to its dismissal by the High Court.
Facing a similar IP matter?
Arctic Invent is a specialist IP firm with deep litigation expertise across India, EU, US, and UK. Our team uses data-driven strategy to build stronger cases.